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Subpoena seeking book buyers dropped

MADISON, WISCONSIN — Federal prosecutors have withdrawn a subpoena seeking the identities of thousands of people who bought used books through Amazon.com Inc., newly unsealed court records show.

"The [subpoena's] chilling effect on expressive e-commerce would frost keyboards across America," U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker wrote in a June ruling.

Federal prosecutors issued the subpoena last year as part of a grand jury investigation into a former Madison official who was a prolific seller of used books on Amazon.com. They were looking for buyers who could be witnesses in the case.